1 Peter 1:13-16; Eph. 1:3-6, Holiness (2)

·        Rest your hope.  We have already studied hope in 1 Peter.  We have a living hope through the resurrection of Christ guaranteeing an inheritance incorruptible, undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven (1:3-4).  If we have this hope let us rest in this hope.  It is an issue of perspective.  We can rejoice greatly in our trials because our confidence is not in escaping the trial but in the reality that is on the other side of the trial.  It makes the trial seem light and short lived (Rom. 8:18; 2 Cor. 4:16-18).  When Peter says to rest our hope on the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ he is speaking of all the glory associated with the return of Christ.  It is then we receive the end of our faith, the salvation of your souls (1 Pt. 1:9).  It is then that our goal of Christlikeness is complete (1 Jn. 3:2).  It is then that the fullness of our adoption, the redemption of our body is fully experienced; we were saved in this hope (Rom. 8:23-24).  As we have seen in 1 Peter, the trial is refining us in the fire; we endure joyfully because we know that what God is doing is the very thing for which we were called.

·        As obedient children, not conforming but holy.  Believers are saints.  I don’t mean people with perfect, sinless lives or people of incredible accomplishments as we often use the term.  In the NT it refers to those God has set apart for Himself and His purposes.  Literally, a saint is a holy one.  Every way you think about it holiness is God’s plan for believers and He is at work to produce holiness in us.  In the PAST God chose us to be holy (Eph. 1:3-6).  In the PRESENT He calls us to be holy as He is holy (1 Peter 1:14-16).  In the FUTURE He will keep us so that we might be holy at the coming of Christ (1 Th. 3:13).  The pursuit of holiness is …

o      The pursuit of obedience (v14a).  As obedient children we are to be holy.  When God chose us to be holy and without blame He predestined us to adoption as sons (again, Eph. 1:3-6).  The definition of holiness is the character of Christ, the holy Son of God.  Thus God made us His sons when we were born again that we might be conformed to the image of His Son (Rom. 8:29). 

o      The pursuit of transformation (v14b).  Transformation (change from within) is the opposite of conformity (Rom. 12:2) and it is the result of a life focused on Christ (2 Cor. 3:18).  When we say that we mean our pursuit of holiness is …

o      The pursuit of God (v15-16).  What a powerful, bold command.  Be holy for I am holy.  It is God’s command.  And obedience to the command means being godly in the purest sense: bearing His character and glory.  Which brings us back to the first statement: gird up the loins of your mind.  There is absolutely no place for waste, for hindrances.  Let us close with Paul’s words in Rom. 6:19: For just as you presented your members as slaves of uncleanness, and of lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves of righteousness for holiness.

1 Peter 1:13-16; 1 Thess. 5:1-11, Holiness (1)

The word “therefore” is not difficult to understand.  Something that was said before the “therefore” compels us to do what is said after the “therefore”.  So what has been said to this point?  We have a great hope Christ that will enable us to rejoice as we encounter trials so that we receive the salvation of our souls that was promised by the prophets of old.  Enduring trials joyfully!  It is a common theme in Scripture (Mt. 5:10-12; Acts 16:25; Rom. 5:1-5; 2 Cor. 12:9-10; Phil. 1:12-18; Col. 1:11; Heb. 12:1-2; James 1:2-5,12; these were off the top of my head, I am sure there are more).  So what is the “therefore” with respect to experiencing great joy in our trials?  (Peter gives four thoughts to us; we will save two for tomorrow.)

·        Gird up the loins of your mind.  “Gird up” is what the first century person did with his robe when to go to work or run somewhere.  It removed the hindrances of loose fitting clothes.  The “mind” is not simply the brain.  The Greek term refers to the thought processes of life.  It has to do with our way of thinking.  In other words, true to the Biblical pattern, life change begins with renewing the mind (Rom. 12:2; Eph. 4:22-24).  Three times in the Gospels we are told to love the Lord with all our mind (way of thinking).  As unbelievers we had fulfilled the desires of the mind (Eph. 2:3), walking in the emptiness of our minds (Eph. 4:18).  But when we were saved God put His law in our minds (Heb. 8:10; 10:16) so that we might know Him (1 John 5:20).  In resolving the conflict between the way we used to think and the way we have been taught in Christ Peter is saying we need to streamline our thinking, ridding ourselves of every hindrance that would keep us from the new life.  There can be no more succumbing to the excuses that keep us from following Christ.  There can be no more dabbling in the lusts that take our minds away from the path God has for us, a path that will bring various trials.  We must discipline our minds!

·        Be sober.  This goes to our hearts, the attitude of life.  To be sober is to be calm and collected in spirit, temperate, dispassionate and circumspect.  Five of the six times this is used in the NT it is in a context of the end times, days of increasing evil.  Those who are not sober are found to be sleeping when the Master comes rather than serving Him (1 Th. 5:6).  Others are drunk (1 Th. 5:8), under the control of something that results in a wasted life.  Others are not listening faithfully to the Lord through His word but instead have turned to fables (2 Tim. 4:5).  The one who is sober faces life calmly, seriously and with clarity.  By His grace!

Micah 4:9-5:2; 7:18-20, Things Angels Long to See (2)

Let us pause to consider the perplexity of the prophets and the faithfulness of the Sovereign Lord.  The gospel, by which we mean the death and resurrection of Christ, resolved a myriad of mysteries from the Old Testament.  What God did in Christ was beyond imagination.  As Isaiah said (64:4), and Paul echoed (1 Cor. 2:9), For since the beginning of the world men have not heard nor perceived by the ear, nor has the eye seen any God besides You, who acts for the one who waits for Him. 

Let us use the prophet Micah as an illustration.  Micah saw three historical movements but could not have known how God would move from the situation in Micah’s day to the promised glories of the Messianic kingdom.

·        The exaltation of Jerusalem, Mt. Zion.

o      Micah 1-3 describes the destruction of Jerusalem, a judgment brought about by their idolatry, injustice and covetousness and encouraged by countless false prophets.  Yet Micah 4 begins with an entirely different message, of Jerusalem and the temple being the center of worldwide revival. 

o      What Micah could not understand was how Bethlehem (Micah 5:2) would be the key to this change.  The Ruler would come from there in the latter days and would bring about a kingdom of righteousness.

·        The salvation of the nations.

o      Micah saw Israel as God’s people through whom the Gentiles would come to worship the true God.  Again, Israel was unfaithful.  In Micah 1-3 they are called five times My people; yet they have fallen into idolatry.  They are not God’s effective witness to the nations.  And yet, again, in Micah 4:1-3, who is worshiping in the mountain of the Lord?  Many nations shall come (v2).  Again we ask how this can be?

o       Again the answer is in Bethlehem (5:2-4).  In His kingdom the remnant of His brethren will be there; and He shall be great to the ends of the earth.  Micah knew that the answer revolved around the Messiah, the One to be born in Bethlehem.  But he could not understand salvation to the ends of the earth.

·        The forgiveness of sin.

o      The first calling of the prophet is to cry out to God’s people to repent of their sin.  Micah does this.  Yet he is also told by the Lord that there will be restoration, His people walking in righteousness.  How can this be?

o      The closing verses (7:14-20) are prayer and praise from Micah.  He knows God by His Name (Ex. 34:6-7) as merciful and forgiving.  He knows through the sacrificial system as well as by the story of Abraham and Isaac (Gen. 22, which also took place on the mountain of the Lord), that Bethlehem’s Ruler must also be the Savior, the sacrifice, the Savior from the seed of the woman (Gen. 3:15).  The hope of Micah was the hope of all the righteous in Israel.  But who could have thought that the One born in Bethlehem would arrive at Golgotha and then be resurrected from a tomb in a nearby garden.

Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God!  How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out! (Rom. 11:33-36)  With this in mind, let us be those who faithfully wait on the Lord.

1 Peter 1:10 -12; Luke 7:18 -28 , Things Angels Long to See

We have more to learn about the salvation of our souls (v9). Of this salvation, Peter says, the prophets have inquired and searched carefully. The prophets prophesied of the grace that would come to you. The Old Testament prophets include Isaiah to Malachi whose names are familiar to us because they are attached to Scripture. Also included was John the Baptist, who prophesied before Christ began his ministry, and who also inquired and searched carefully of these things. All these prophets prophesied what we call Messianic prophesies, prophesies of a Savior who would come to bring salvation to Adam’s race (Gen. 3:15). These prophesies were about the grace that would come to you; and the prophets had all ministered to Israel.

Specifically, these prophets were searching out the answers to two questions:
 “what” would happen to bring about this salvation?
 “what manner of time” it would happen?

The second question is not so much a question of “when” it would happen but what order of events could possibly fit the “what” that God was telling them to speak about. The Messianic prophesies spoke of the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow. An easy illustration of this can be seen if you read the Immanuel Prophesy of Isaiah 7-12, especially the familiar passage in Isa. 9:6-7. It speaks of the Child who will rule on the throne of David. Then read Isa. 53 that describes the terrible suffering of the Messiah and clearly speaks of His death (v9).

How can these fit together? Jews to this day, who have rejected Jesus as the Messiah, struggle with this issue, to the point of denying the clear meaning of Isa. 53 or seeking resolution by suggesting there must be two Messiahs. The latter view at least has the credibility of acknowledging the inquiry of the ancient prophets. Even the angels did not understand how this was going to happen; but they did have a desire to look into it, being as they desire to glorify God in all things.

According to Peter the answer to the prophet’s inquiry is also twofold:
* It was for “us” (or “you”). Peter says the answer would not be understood until the time of the New Covenant. He and those to whom he wrote had understanding because they knew the events that already transpired (the cross, empty tomb and ascension) as well as what was promised (the revelation of Jesus Christ).

* It involved the “gospel”. Paul says the gospel involves the mystery kept secret since the world began but now made manifest (Rom. 16:25-27.) The gospel was witnessed by the Law and the Prophets (Rom. 3:21-22.) It was even promised before time began but only manifested … through preaching by the Apostles.

Think about this. These prophets could not understand how it fit together. But they inquired, and the angels desired to look into it, because they all trusted the word of our faithful Creator. Even if they could not understand it they believed it would happen. Do we have such a faith in the word of God?

1 Peter 1:6-9; Phil. 3:8-14, Sincere Faith (4)

IV.            The end of faith, 1:9.

As we conclude our study of sincere or genuine faith let us keep in mind the overall picture Peter is giving us.  The Scriptures are abundantly clear that genuine faith is faith in Jesus Christ, believing the good news of who He is and what He has done (Rom. 1:3-4; 1 Cor. 15:3-5). 

But the fact is that this simple trust in Christ, receiving Him (Jn. 1:12), confessing Him as the resurrected Lord (Rom. 10:9-10) can be confused with something that is not genuine.  Mere emotional sadness about one’s sinful state can be confused with faith; they are not the same though one should lead to the other.  Religious works, whether prescribed by some religion such as was the case in Judaism in Jesus’ day, or things that are manufactured in our own hearts and minds, are not faith.  These works might make us feel good and worthy before God but they are actually a form of pride; they are not faith.  Matt. 7:21-27 illustrate this kind of thinking while Heb. 9:14 tells us the work of Christ on the cross will cleanse our conscience from these dead works.  Heb. 6:1 also tells us of the need to repent of these when we believe in Christ.

Genuine faith is also an issue for those who have put their faith in Christ.  Faith in Christ brings us into a right standing before God, called justification (Rom. 5:1).  But faith is also the means by which we live in this life, or as Phil. 2:12-13 puts, the way we work out our own salvation.  Genuine faith, faith in Christ, saves us from the penalty of death; it brings us into the hope of eternal life (Rom. 6:23).  Our faith may be said to be weak in in need of strengthening.

With this in mind, our passage tells us that the trials we experience here have the important benefit of revealing the nature of our faith.  Is it, in fact, faith in Christ?  When tested do we turn to Christ or away from Christ?  We need to have this revealed for the sake of the present salvation from sin’s power that we need.  And it shows us if our faith is in some sense false.  This is something that we would never want to let slide until we come to the end of this life and stand before our Creator.  If we only find out then, it is too late to do anything about it.  The expression of genuine, saving faith must come in this life.  Genuine faith, as Peter says, saves the soul, the true man on the inside.  As Jesus said, What profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? (Mt. 16:26).

So Peter says we are receiving the end of your faith – the salvation of your souls.  What Peter says to Jewish believers (pilgrims of the Dispersion, 1:2) Paul said to Gentiles in Phil. 3:8-14.  Paul had not achieved full maturity; he was still pressing toward the goal of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.  He never ceased to want to know (Christ) and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings.  Our trials are the fertile soil for this continued growth.  Let us greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials. 

Psalm 53

Psalm 53 is almost word-for-word the same as Psalm 14.  If you are interested our thoughts on Psalm 14 were recorded on this blog Nov. 30, 2014.  It included a discussion as to why David (assuming the titles are correct and that this is a contemplation of David) might refer to the captivity.  There is also a discussion as to why the Holy Spirit included two almost identical Songs and why we might need the reminder both of the sinfulness of man as well as God’s care for His people.

Briefly let us consider the fact that there is a difference between the two Psalms that should be encouraging for us.  To begin with, Psalm 14 speaks of “the LORD” while Psalm 53 uses “God” in the same 4 places.  Furthermore, in 14:5-6 God is for the righteous.  He is their refuge.  The emphasis is on what the LORD, the name that should encourage His people, is for His own.  In 53:5 God encamps against the workers of iniquity.  The emphasis is on what He is toward His enemies, and the reference to “God” is general and fits those nations that would oppress His people.

The fact is that God’s people live in a world dominated, as both Songs say, by those who deny God’s existence and have no desire to seek Him out.  At the same time the nations need to hear God’s word for them, which is that He is against them.  You may have noticed this kind of language throughout Scripture, but I am thinking especially of Ezekiel’s prophecy.  To the nations several times God made it clear that He was “against” them (Ezek. 28:22; 29:4,10).  Those words need to be said to and heard by the nations, by those who are at ease in sin, to those who as workers of iniquity seek to make life difficult for the people of God.  But Ezekiel, at a very timely place in his prophecy, also told the scattered and captive people of Israel, “I am for you” (Ezek. 36:9).  In helplessness we need to know God sees and knows and will work against the oppressors.  In our hopelessness we need to know the LORD is for us!  

What shall we then say to these things?  If God be for us, who can be against us? (Rom. 8:31)  Can we not say, at the same time, that if God is against us, who can be for us?  May we find ourselves on the right side of eternity, the right side of the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ?  At no time in history was God ever for us as He was when He made atonement for our sins through the blood of His only Son!

1 Peter 1:6-9; 1 John 1:1-4, Sincere Faith (3)

III.            The focus of faith, 1:8.

The term focus is meant to convey the Biblical admonition to set your minds on.  In this case it is not so much an admonition is a recognition that this is what believers in Christ do.  Even though Jesus Christ is, at this point, invisible to believers, He is still the chief object of their meditations and full-hearted emotions.  Let us not the three ways Peter speaks of this focus with additional thoughts (in outline form) on each.

a.     To focus on Christ is to LOVE Christ.

                 i.      We define love in the way we believe Christ defined it, as sacrificial giving (John 3:16; 1 John 4:10).

              ii.      We don’t truly love God until we believe in Christ.

           iii.      All other loves are like hate compared to our love for Him (Mt. 10:37).

            iv.      Our love for Christ is pure response to God’s love for us (1 Jn. 4:19; Rom. 5:8).

There is every reason why we should love Him.  His character is infinitely lovely.  He has done more for us than any other One who ever lived among men.  He died for us to redeem our souls.  He rose, and brought life and immortality to light.  He ever lives to intercede for us in heaven.  He is employed in preparing mansions of rest for us in the skies, and He will come and take us to Himself, that we may be with Him forever.  Such a Savior ought to be loved, is loved, and will be loved. (Albert Barnes)

b.     To focus on Christ is to BELIEVE in Christ.

                 i.      A. T. Robertson notes that Peter may have had in mind Jesus’ exchange with Thomas in Jn. 20:29.  Though John’s gospel had not yet been penned Peter was there when Jesus spoke with Thomas.

              ii.      Christ can only be seen by the eyes of faith (2 Cor. 5:7).

           iii.      Faith does not make the non-existent real but rather it makes the unseen real.  The fool believes that which cannot be.  A wise man believes that which, though unseen, is believable.  And Christ IS believable.  His life and ministry fulfilled prophecy, was witnessed by many (friends and foes alike), was attested by miracles, was confirmed by His resurrection and produced many benefits.

c.     To focus on Christ is to REJOICE GREATLY in Christ.

                 i.      In v6 we knew that we rejoiced greatly in our trials; in v8 we know why!  The stronger the focus on Christ the greater our joy (1 John 1:1-4); the greater the joy the less we feel capable of properly speaking of that joy. Amen!

                    ii.                    In Peter’s writings it is always Christ who has the glory (4:11, 13-14).  Thus we are full of joy because we are full of the glory of Christ. 

1 Peter 1:6-9; Matt. 7:21-27, Sincere Faith (2)

II.            The testing of faith, 1:7.

In this verse genuineness is the noun and testing is the verb.  The goal is sincere faith; the process of proving it is sincere is testing.  The great preacher in the last century, Donald Grey Barnhouse, gave a good explanation of the historical background of the concept behind this passage.

In the ancient world there was no banking system as we know it today, and no paper money.  All money was made from metal, heated until liquid, poured into molds and allowed to cool.  When the coins were cooled, it was necessary to smooth off the uneven edges.  The coins were comparatively soft and of course many people shaved them closely.  In one century, more than eighty laws were passed in Athens, to stop the practice of shaving down the coins then in circulation.  But some money changers were men of integrity, who would accept no counterfeit money.  They were men of honour who put only genuine full weighted money into circulation.  Such men were called “dokimos” or “approved”. 

You may be one of those folks who doesn’t like tests.  Maybe it goes back to school days.  Or maybe it’s just that we don’t care for painful or negative experiences.  After all, the background of the word has to do with the purifying of precious metals and it required a furnace that would heat to upwards of 2000 deg. F.  The truth is many times the response to trials is to become angry at God for allowing such a thing; we blame Him for our pain.

We would strongly insist that we should thank God for the trials of faith.  We should thank Him for proving our faith now, in this life, rather than letting us wait until we show up at the revelation of Jesus Christ and find our faith was hypocritical rather than sincere or genuine.  Jesus Himself warned of such a danger in Mt. 7:21-23. 

Let us be very clear.  Faith in Christ is a simple matter.  It is receive Him (John 1:12).  It is not amassing enough works to make Him happy; that is works and not faith (Eph. 2:8-9).  Faith believes what Christ has done in the cross and empty tomb and that what He did has satisfied my need for the forgiveness of sin against my Creator.  We don’t try harder in order to have genuine faith in Christ.  We simply trust Him.  Either we have faith is Christ or we don’t.  What the fiery trial does it show us what our faith is like and it purifies our faith.

In fact, when we appear before Christ at His judgment seat, the hottest of fires will be applied to the works of our lives according to 1 Cor. 3:13: Each one’s work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one’s work, of what sort it is.  The fire we are encountering today does for us what the furnace does for gold: it purifies (makes us clean) and it liquefies (makes us moldable for God’s purposes).  Let us thankfully submit ourselves to His love.

1 Peter 1:6-9; Isaiah 55:1-7, Sincere Faith (1)

Peter has told us we have a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.  This hope sustains us through our various trials.  But why must we have these trials?  Peter’s answer is that they give us the opportunity to give praise, honor, and glory to Christ when He is revealed.  Our faith is being tested by fire.  In the end we will receive the fullness of the salvation of your souls.  This honor to Christ is evident in the genuineness of our faith as and after it has been tested.

Over the next few days we will consider the value, testing, focus and end of genuine faith.  Let us note that the focus of faith is Christ (v8).  We mention this now so that we do not fall into the danger of many in our world who simply value faith.  Genuine faith, faith that ends in salvation, is always and only faith in Christ.

I.            The value of faith, 1:7.

Genuine faith is much more precious that gold that perishes, Peter says.  It is extremely valuable.  And Peter says this of genuine faith before it is tested or even now, as we are going through fiery trials.  Let us consider this: what is so valuable about faith in Christ?  We are sure much more can be said but let us consider the following list of ten values of faith.

·        Faith in Christ doesn’t perish, 1 Peter 1:7.  Later Peter will speak of the precious or valuable blood of Christ (1:19) that saves us and that is not like corruptible silver or gold.  Here it is genuine faith that does not perish like gold.

·         Faith in Christ has saved us, Eph. 2:8-9.  We have received God’s gracious gift of salvation when we believed.  We were saved from the penalty of sin.

·        Faith in Christ sanctifies, it is saving us, 2 Cor. 5:7.  We walk by faith, not by sight. We are being saved from the power of sin.

·        Faith in Christ overcomes the world, 1 John 5:4. 

·        Faith in Christ is the shield that protects us from Satan’s attacks, Eph. 6:16.

·        Faith in Christ ties us to God’s people in all ages, Heb. 11.  Much can be said about the hopeful faith before the cross and the knowledgeable faith after the cross.  But the righteous have always been characterized by faith in Christ. 

·        Faith in Christ brings no disappointment, Rom. 10:11.  We will never be ashamed or let down.

·        Faith in Christ keeps you, 1 Peter 1:5.  Like Paul, genuine faith knows God is able to keep what we have committed to Him until the Day (2 Tim. 1:12).

·        Faith in Christ pleases God, Heb. 11:6. 

·        Faith in Christ honors our Lord and Master, the One in whom we trust, 1 Peter 1:7.

This valuable faith, much more valuable than gold that perishes, is within reach of every man who would have it.  As Isaiah called the people of Israel, so we are called today.  Salvation in Christ can be the possession of the poorest soul and you can delight in the abundance of Christ.  Why do you spend money for what is not bread, and your wages for what does not satisfy? … Seek the LORD while He may be found!

1 Peter 3:6-9; Heb. 12:3-11, Trials

Peter has presented a hope that is real, a hope secured by the resurrection of Christ, made available by God’s abundant mercy, and guaranteed to all who are born again.  It is not a desert mirage, a vision of something that looks real but disappoints the thirsty man who never arrives at what he hopes for.  Think about that.  What if the thirsty man knows that he is not seeing a mirage but is seeing something very real?  Will it not cause him to go on, crawling on the hot sand, for the joy of cool, clear water?

The Holy Spirit through Peter has described this hope of the believer so that he might greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials.  The hope is for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time (v5), or as v9 says, the end of your faith – the salvation of your souls.  Now the emphasis is on the life of trials we experience on earth through which the hope sustains us.  The trials are hard, but Peter is clear: they serve a valuable purpose in our lives!  Here are four thoughts about trials that help us see why we can rejoice in them.

·        They are short, for a little while, 1:6.  They last a few days, like the chastening of childhood by our fathers (Heb. 12:10).  We will be established after you have suffered a while (1 Pt. 5:10).  They are short, and thus, they are light (2 Cor. 4:17).  Remember that God never over-burdens you with trials (1 Cor. 10:13).

·        They are necessary, if need be as Peter says.  Think about it.  Jesus had trials (Hb. 2:12; 4:15); Paul had trials (Ac. 20:19); Abraham had trials (Hb. 11:17); all God’s people of faith had trials (Hb. 11:36-37).  So as Peter says, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as thought some strange thing happened to you (1 Pt. 4:12-13).  After all: we life in this world, a place hostile to Christ; we carry around the dead man, the flesh, and our enemy is the devil.

·        They are grievous.  Perhaps you don’t need to be told this, but you do need to know that GOD KNOWS THIS!  The Bible relates our trials to childbirth (Jn. 16:2), parental discipline (Hb. 12:11) and an iron furnace (Jer. 11:4).  Jesus promised this (Jn. 16:20).  So don’t complain; rather let it lead you to maturity (2 Cor. 7:10).

·        They are diverse (these are the various trials Peter speaks of, various types).  There are three categories, if you will:  those what bring pain (lust of the flesh), those that deprive us of the things of this world (lust of the eyes), and those that attack our position and relationships (pride of life).  We know that our suffering is increased when we are tempted to take the easy way out rather than to allow the trial to do its perfect work (Jas. 1:3-5).  Ultimately our trials are about trusting God versus following after an idol.  

To return to the illustration of the mirage, consider this: who hopes more for water; the man in the desert or the man in the kitchen next to the faucet?  It is in the midst of trials, of affliction, more than at any other time, that we eagerly await our salvation!  Because of our hope let us greatly rejoice!